Over The Edge
by Ice Bear
Summary: Fate is not kind to our dynamic duo when one partner fears the other is lost forever. I just saw the show for the first time two weeks ago and have enjoyed reading all the really great stories out there.


Over the Edge

Van had to get out of there before he hurt someone. The stunning black woman draped over his partner on the deck had just made yet another in a long string of disparaging remarks to his face. 'Let's see,' he thought, 'she doesn't like my hair, my eyes, my education, my skin color, my accent, my clothes, my body type…I can't think of anything left to pick on'.

While he wouldn't leave his partner, who simply laughed at every comment, occasionally throwing in one of his own -- he was thinking of ways to hurt him physically. And it wasn't bad enough that this went on as part of his cover, but back at the shop Billy had been just as bad lately: picking apart everything from his expense report to his hair product choice.

Two hours later Deaq signaled he was ready to leave, and they headed for the car. Deaq's mind was focused on the fact that he would actually have two whole days, an entire weekend. He was so focused on the thought of down time that he did not read anything into his partner's silence – silence being the key word. Silence was not Van's forte – in fact it was usually a warning signal that Deaq had learned to heed, but not tonight.

Billy laced into Van when they arrived at the Candy Store about being late. Van ignored the venom and went to fill out the paperwork waiting for him. Two and a half hours later, he put his paperwork in Billy's inbox and left. He drove 'home' to the apartment serving as his cover. He shook his head again upon entering and wondered if Billy really had picked the sterile place out on purpose. He grabbed a quick dinner of yogurt and fruit, made a phone call, took a shower and headed for the car with an overnight bag in hand.

Once he cleared LA proper and was headed south on I5 – far enough along so he could actually see the stars in the clear night sky, he began to relax. He flipped in a Neil Diamond CD and settled in for the ride. He did not notice the silver Explorer that had followed since he left the apartment and was hanging further back as the traffic thinned out.

He slowed slightly north of Oceanside to watch the moon play off the bay amid the scattered brush filled plains around Camp Pendleton. His sightseeing was interrupted as he felt his car jerk to the right as the Explorer hit his car and then hit it again. "What the hell…" was his last conscious thought before the small sports car launched into the air and rolled over three times before settling on its roof in a depression below the road side.

"Dre…what are you doing here?" he whispered, or thought he did, as his late partner settled beside him.

"Came to check on my partner." The handsome black man said with a smile as his left hand ghosted softly across the pale cheek.

"But you're…then I'm…." Van was at a loss.

"Yes I am, but you are not. And that is why I'm here. I need to make sure you hang on for Deaq."

"Dre, I can't….it hurts so much."

"Look little brother, Deaq needs you and I need you to stay here, for him. Van, my brother needs a partner he can trust with his life, that means he needs you."

"No, he doesn't trust me, and I've been thinking he would be better off with someone else…someone smarter."

"Man, I can't believe we are going to have this conversation again! Donovan Ray, you are the best cop I ever worked with. One I trusted with my life and one I trust with our little brother's life."

"But I didn't save you…you died…" Van's head hung lower, if possible.

"Babe, you know that there was nothing you could have done to save me. God knows you saved me a hundred other times to your own detriment. That day…Van it was my time, simple as that. Nothing you or anybody else could have done, you have to believe that…And I need you to be there for Deaq. I need to know you are there to watch his back and keep him out of trouble. You are the only one I trust him with, so you have to hang on. I want you to promise me Van."

"No, please Dre, I…it hurts too much."

"Promise me."

"I, I promise."

"That's my man. You just hold on and Deaq will find you. That is my promise." Dre said before slowly disappearing in the morning mist.

Early Monday morning, a CHP officer pulled over to fill out some paperwork and found the car. He headed down the steep slope off the highway carefully after calling it in. He slid on his stomach into the driver's side and checked twice when he found a pulse, not quite believing it was possible. He called for an ambulance and started talking to the man in the car.

At 10:15 a.m. Deaq strode into the Candy Store, rested and ready to go after a quiet, peaceful weekend. "Hey Billy, Van here yet?" He stopped short when he caught sight of her face. "Billy what's wrong?"

"Deaq, I need you to sit down."

"Billy…."

"Sit down, please."

Deaq sat on the edge of the small chair, his heart suddenly in his throat.

"I got a call from Parrish about an hour ago…the California Highway Patrol found a black BMW M3 in a ditch off I5 north of Oceanside. It had been there since just after 11:30 pm Friday night." She couldn't look at him while she spoke.

He was out of the chair and leaning across the desk "But…Van has the M3?"

At her nod, Deaq collapsed back into the chair. "Oh my God…Billy is he….he isn't…Billy?" Tears were sweeping down his cheeks as he tried to find enough breath to ask the question he didn't want an answer to.

"He is alive, barely. Paramedics said his guardian angel was clearly on overtime…but the doctors are giving him a less then 20 percent chance to live. They took him into surgery about 40 minutes ago….they're going to call when they are done." Her eyes now sought the man sitting across the desk.

"No!" Deaq screamed, as he wrapped his arms tightly around his body. "We got to get to San Diego, now. He can't…I don't want him to be alone. I need to be there. I…"

"You can't." she said cutting off his babbling. "You have a meet in three hours."

"No way…not going to happen, I gotta get to Van…"

"Stop it!" She yelled. "Think this through…a truckload of automatic weapons will hit the streets tomorrow unless you stop them this afternoon."

"Billy. Don't! I won't, I can't leave Van to…to… alone. I can't." He half whispered through his tears.

"You have to. This is your job. Your being at the hospital isn't going to change anything." She said more firmly then she felt.

Deaq left the room, retreating to the balcony where he and Van often sat to work through their problems with a case. He put his head in his hands and began rocking slowly back and forth. "Please God…please you took Dre, don't take Van too. I can't, I just can't lose him. Please." He sat for an hour, his heart broken, but he knew that in the end Van would expect him to get the guns. One of his partner's biggest faults, he mused, was the fact that he always put everybody and everything else first.

He came downstairs to find Billy waiting. "I'm sorry," she said softly.

"It's alright Billy. Let's do the meet. It's what Van would expect us to do,"he finished with half hearted grin.

Deaq found himself, ironically, on the same small sandy beach where he made his first bust with Van. "Please Van, hang on a little longer, I'm coming partner," he whispered to the ocean.

Billy watched through her binoculars as the Silver Explorer, pulling a trailer, came into view…."silver" she whispered out loud before reaching for her phone.

"Hey Baby," Charlene purred as she plastered herself to Deaq's front, "been waiting long?" She gave him a long sloppy kiss and then pulled back and looked around. "Where's your bitch?"

"He had some family business to take care of, took longer then he thought." He answered stepping away from the woman.

"So he has family in San Diego?" She continued.

"San Diego" he repeated as his brain started screaming at him, "not family family, but yeah." His body had stiffened, and he was trying desperately not to put his hands around her throat. "Where is the merchandise, I'm on a schedule." His voice was steady as his undercover persona reinserted itself.

"Right here baby, come take a look." She cooed pointing to the trailer.

He took his time looking, trying to decide whether he should take her down where she stood. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was involved somehow in what happened to his partner. He could hear Van in his head pleading with him not to shoot Kane. A whisp of a smile crossed his face as he jumped out of the trailer and handed the woman the brief case.

Suddenly the isolated area was crawling with SWAT team members dressed in black jumpsuits. He was pushed none too gently up against the truck and cuffed. He glared at Charlene.

"No baby, I didn't do this honest. I'll get it us out of this. I promise baby," she babbled as she was led past him in cuffs.

Billy came up beside him after circling the Explorer. "She did it didn't she?" Deaq demanded. "It wasn't an accident was it? I'm gonna kill the bitch."

"CHP told me there was silver paint on the left side of the car and dents and scratches consistent with being run off the road. The left side of this Explorer has black paint all along the side." She paused, looking up at the man in front of her. "How did you know?"

"She asked if he had family in San Diego…Christ Billy we didn't even know he was going anywhere – the only way she could have known he was headed south was if she followed him." The long arms went back around the solid body as he hugged himself tight.

"Come on Deaq, I have a chopper ready. I think we've kept Van waiting long enough."

In the ICU waiting room at Sharp Memorial Hospital, Deaq paced, his long legs cutting the room almost in half, for 15 minutes until a doctor appeared.

"Van?" Deaq stopped, unable to say anything else.

"Mr. Ray is in critical condition, which in and of itself is a miracle considering the length of time he was stuck in that car and the fact that he coded twice in the OR."

"Can I see him?" Deaq asked softly. "Please."

Deaq felt as if he had been punched in the gut with a two by four when he caught sight of his partner. Van looked so vulnerable…not a word Deaq had associated with his strong, vibrant partner before…lying pale and still and covered with wires and tubes. He shook himself upright and placed his large, warm, black, hand on top of the small, cold, pale right hand on the bed and gently squeezed it.

"Hey Partner. I'm sorry I made you wait so long, but I'm here now and I won't leave you alone again. I promise Van. Just come back to me, please."

Deaq moved the one chair in the room up to the left side of the bed, which had – relatively speaking – fewer wires and tubes, and settled in. He kept a hand on his partner and talked. He talked about his childhood with Dre, his athletic exploits, his sexual conquests, his favorite movies. He spoke in a soft low voice that was meant only for the man in the bed, not for the people who constantly moved in and out of the small space. He left that space only to eat – because they wouldn't allow him to eat in the room – and, after the third day – to call Billy with a daily update after she went back to LA.

The patient's vitals were weak and they were not improving. The doctors were questioning whether the young man would ever open his eyes again. One doctor made the mistake of sharing this thought with his partner. The rest of the medical staff learned from his mistake.

On the 8th evening after the accident, Deaq was close to the breaking point. Although he hadn't wanted to listen to what the doctors' were saying, he was beginning to believe it himself. Just after midnight he stood up from the chair and placed a gentle hand on the still battered cheek. "Van, you need to wake up. You are seriously scaring me, here. I know something was bothering you before this all happened, and I didn't take the time to listen. It won't happen again, if you just flash me those beautiful green eyes babe, I promise you that.

Come on man, I need you. I don't know how else to explain it to you. If you are waiting for me to beg, Van, I'll get down on my knees right now, right here. Of course the nursing staff is going to wonder….." The soft voice broke.

"Damn it Van, I lost Dre, don't you..." Anger carried his voice to the nursing station this time. "Don't you leave me too Van, please don't…" the voice broke again and tears started to fall softly onto the injured face.

Late the next day the ventilator alarm went off just as Deaq was leaving the room. He rushed back to the bed and put a hand on Van's shoulder, and the alarm quieted. A nurse in the room checked several monitors before turning to Deaq with a smile. "Tell him you are going to get coffee again."

Deaq looked puzzled. "Hey Van, I'll be right back, just need some coffee."

The ventilator alarm screamed again, and Deaq returned to the bed and touched his partner and the alarm died down. Deaq looked at the nurse. "He apparently doesn't want you to go. And that is causing him to breath on his own, throwing off the ventilator's rhythm." And that is when the nurse first saw Deaq smile.

Two days later the ventilator and most of the tubes were gone. Deaq was reading the local sports news out loud when something caught his attention. He lowered the paper and found himself looking into tired, frightened green eyes.

"Hey bright eyes," Deaq cooed as he rose slowly out of the chair afraid if he moved too quickly the eyes would close. "I can't tell you how long I've waited to see those beautiful green eyes."

"D…De…" the injured man croaked just below a whisper.

"Right here Van. Just take it easy, you're in the hospital. Everything is going to be alright." He began to caress the cheek again and the face moved softly into the warm hand.

"Wh…why?"

"Long story partner, I'll tell you all about it later. You just get some rest, and I will break you out of here before you know it." His voice cracked as he watched the green eyes close. He lowered his head and began to cry.


End file.
